Aśvaghoṣa facts for kids

Aśvaghoṣa (pronounced Ash-va-GHO-sha), who lived around 80 to 150 CE, was a very important Buddhist thinker, writer, and poet from India. He was born in a place called Saketa in northern India.

Many people believe he was the first person to write plays in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. He is also seen as one of India's greatest poets before the famous Kālidāsa. Aśvaghoṣa was a leading writer in a group of Buddhist poets whose long poems (called epics) were as good as the famous Ramayana. Before his time, most Buddhist writings were in Pāli and Prakrit, but Aśvaghoṣa wrote in a more formal style called Classical Sanskrit.

A Monk's Journey: Life of Aśvaghoṣa

Aśvaghoṣa's life story, translated into Chinese by a monk named Kumārajīva, tells us he started as a wandering ascetic. An ascetic is someone who lives a simple life, often giving up worldly pleasures for spiritual reasons. He was known for being able to win any debate.

He once challenged Buddhist monks, saying if no one could debate him, they should stop ringing their wood-block. This block was used to tell people to bring food offerings. Since no one could debate him, the monks stopped ringing it.

However, an older monk named Pārśva from northern India heard about this. He believed that if he could convince Aśvaghoṣa to become a Buddhist, it would greatly help spread the Buddhist teachings (called the Dharma). So, Pārśva traveled south and had the wood-block sounded again.

Aśvaghoṣa came to ask why it was sounded. Even though he thought the old monk wouldn't be able to debate him, he accepted the challenge. After seven days, the debate happened in front of the King, his helpers, and many other ascetics. They agreed that the loser would become the winner's student.

Pārśva spoke first, saying: "The world should be peaceful, with a long-living king, lots of food, and joy everywhere, with no problems." Aśvaghoṣa had no answer to this simple but wise statement. So, he had to become Pārśva's student and was fully ordained as a Buddhist monk.

At first, Aśvaghoṣa wasn't fully convinced. But Pārśva showed him amazing spiritual powers, which made Aśvaghoṣa believe. Pārśva then taught him important Buddhist ideas, and Aśvaghoṣa became a master of these teachings.

The Horse-Cry Monk

Later, the central kingdom where Aśvaghoṣa lived was attacked by the army of the Kushan Empire. The Kushan King demanded a huge payment of 300,000 gold pieces. The local King only had 100,000. So, the Kushan King asked for the Buddha's begging bowl, the newly converted monk (Aśvaghoṣa), and the 100,000 gold pieces as payment.

The King of the central kingdom was sad to let Aśvaghoṣa go. But Aśvaghoṣa convinced him it would help spread the Dharma across the world if he went with the Kushan King. So, he was taken away.

The Kushan King's own helpers were not happy. They didn't think a monk was worth 100,000 gold pieces. But the King knew Aśvaghoṣa's true value. He ordered seven horses to be starved for six days. Then, he gathered everyone and had Aśvaghoṣa teach the Dharma.

Even the hungry horses, with their favorite food right in front of them, were so amazed by Aśvaghoṣa's teaching that they listened carefully. Everyone then understood how valuable Aśvaghoṣa was. Because of this event, he was given the name Aśvaghoṣa, which means "Horse-Cry."

Aśvaghoṣa traveled all over northern India, sharing the Dharma and guiding people with his wisdom. He was highly respected and known as "The Sun of Merit and Virtue."

Aśvaghoṣa's Famous Books

Aśvaghoṣa wrote several important books. He is most famous for his long poem about the life of the Buddha, called Buddhacharita (which means "Acts of the Buddha"). He wrote it in Sanskrit.

A Chinese monk named I-tsing once said that Buddhacharita was "read widely in all parts of India and in countries to the south." He added that Aśvaghoṣa put many ideas into a few words, which made readers happy and never tired of reading the poem. People even thought it was a good deed to read it because it contained noble Buddhist teachings in a clear way.

The Buddhacharita has 28 chapters and tells the entire story of the Buddha's life, from his birth until he passed away. Sadly, during invasions between the 10th and 12th centuries, about half of the original Sanskrit text was lost. Today, the second half of the poem only exists in Chinese and Tibetan translations.

Aśvaghoṣa also wrote another poem called Saundarananda. This poem is about Nanda, who was the Buddha's half-brother, and how he became a Buddhist to find peace. The first part of the poem describes Nanda's life, and the second part explains Buddhist ideas and practices.

He is also believed to have written a book called Sutralankara.

Images for kids

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  A drawing of Aśvaghoṣa, the famous Buddhist poet and philosopher.

See also

In Spanish: Asvaghosa para niños