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. 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. 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.

Todd T. Lewis is Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

• PREFACE


• INTRODUCTION


• I: ENGLISH TRANSLATION


• 1: Lumbin?


• 2: Family Tree


• 3: Nativity


• 4: Mother


• n 5


• 6: Education


• 7: Marriage


• 8: The Great Renunciation


• 9: Yashodharâ


• 10: Attaining Enlightenment


• 11: Basic Teachings


• n 12


• 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 K?vya 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 Sh?kyas


• 6: The Modern Confluence of Buddhism-s Kathmandu Valley: Reformist Therav?din and


• Traditional Mah?y?na


• 7: Buddhist Doctrinal Emphases and Exposition in Sugata Saurabha


• 8: The Spell of Idealizations and the Revitalization of Newar Civilization


• BIBLIOGRAPHY