The Sugata Saurabha is an epic poem that retells the story of the Buddha's life. It was published in 1947 in the Nepalese language, Newari, by Chittadhar Hridaya, one of the greatest literary figures of 20th-century Nepal. The text is remarkable for its comprehensiveness, artistry, and nuance. It covers the Buddha's life from birth to death and conveys his basic teachings with simple clarity. It is also of interest because, where the classical sources are silent, Hridaya inserts details of personal life and cultural context that are Nepalese. The effect is to humanize the founder and add the texture of real life. A third point of interest is the modernist perspective that underlies the author's manner of retelling this great spiritual narrative. This rendering, in a long line of accounts of the Buddha's life dating back almost 2,000 years, may be the last ever to be produced that conforms to the traditions of Indic classic poetry. It will not only appeal to scholars of Buddhism but will find use in courses that introduce students to the life of the Buddha.
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PREFACE INTRODUCTION I: ENGLISH TRANSLATION 1:Lumbin? 2:Family Tree 3: Nativity 4: Mother 5: A Pleasant Childhood 6:Education 7: Marriage 8: The Great Renunciation 9: Yashodharâ 10: Attaining Enlightenment 11: Basic Teachings 12: The Blessed One in Kapilavastu 13: Handsome Nanda 14: The Great Lay Disciple 15: Twelve Years of Itinerant Preaching 16: A Dispute over Water 17: The Monastery Built by Visakha 18: Devadatta's Sacrilege 19: Entry into Nirvana
II: PERSPECTIVES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT 1: The Life of the Buddha: Previous Accounts of the Buddhist Textual Tradition 2: The Kāvya Sanskrit Poetry Tradition in Sugata Saurabha and the Indic Aesthetic Tradition 3: The Nepalese Context and Newar Cultural Traditions: Influences on Sugata Saurabha 4: Chittadhar Hridaya: A Literary Biography of his Formative Years 5: The Domestication of Newar Traditions in Sugata Saurabha as those of the Ancient Shākyas 6: The Modern Confluence of Buddhisms Kathmandu Valley: Reformist Theravādin and Traditional Mahāyāna 7: Buddhist Doctrinal Emphases and Exposition in Sugata Saurabha 8: The Spell of Idealizations and the Revitalization of Newar Civilization
