Life of the Buddha (Clay Sanskrit Library, 10)

The Clay Sanskrit Library series is, without doubt, a gift from a very benevolent and gracious God (exactly which one of the 330 million is unclear however - but whichever one it is, "thank you"). One of the latest incarnations of this series, Professor Patrick Olivelle's translation of Ashvaghosha's epic poem "Life of the Buddha" is not only a thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing translation but also contains an extremely helpful and fascinating introductory essay. Worth the price of the book nearly on its own the introduction details how Ashvaghosha's work fits into its larger socio-religious milieu - engaging in a dialogue with the Brahmanical tradition over just what "real" dharma truly is. As such, it helps one understand how these traditions of Brahmanism and Buddhism interacted, challenged and developed alongside one another in conversation. I highly recommend this title, not only for the beauty and impact of the poem itself but also for the information Professor Olivelle provides on how to understand the work in its larger context.

Good read.

great condition and delivery, well worth it.

perfect size, amazing story, and Sanskrit on the left side, so you can (even without any formal instruction) see which words translate 2 wut... def buy this, dont hesitate, just buy.

Unfortunately, the second half is simply summary and not narrative. The pages are placed side-by-side to the original text, so the book is actually much shorter than it appears.

A nice translation of Asvagosha. Very lucid, easy to read, and well documented with English transliteration, glossary, and notes on cantos. A fine work, i recommend!

The book is small (roughly the length and width of my entire hand), but quite thick (depth of ~500 pages). Aesthetically nice on the outside, with very delicate pages on the inside. The book almost gives the impression of a bible. The left-hand pages contain transliterated Sanskrit (i.e., Sanskrit in English text) and the right-hand pages contain the mirroring English translation. Since I am only interested in the English portion, my reading is confined only to the right side of the book and the left side is entirely useless to me. And because the pages are small in length and width, that means I flip through quickly. This frustrates my reading experience. I imagine this layout is helpful for scholars, Sanskrit learners, or people who just want to have a copy in their libraries, but it's not very helpful for someone like me who wants to read the book in English. A paperback version, at least, would have been helpful.

Wonderful poetry. The edition accounts for the many gaps in the surviving original text without diminishing the impact of the story.

Loved it! Great to have both Sanskrit and English text (a pity that there is not devnagari, but this can be neglected in the overall assessment)

この本はブッダチャリタのサンスクリット原文が残っている部分の梵英対訳です。原文が残っていない部分については、チベット訳や漢訳に基づいた要約をつけています。最近日本語のブッダチャリタ「完訳」が出ましたが、それを見て改めてこの本の価値を再認識しました。特に教えられるのはその序論で、ブッダチャリタのインド思想の流れにおけるその位置と重要性を（おそらく正しく）解説しています。翻訳もその判断にのっとったものであると同時に読みやすいものです。お時間のある方に一読をお勧めします。

Excellent copy and service

Old but good poetry on Life of Buddha