Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita and the Curious Case of Sāṁkhya

Abstract

One of the earliest extant kāvya works – the Buddhacarita of Aśvaghoṣa(1st – 2nd century CE) marks the beginning of a new textual type in Indian literary tradition. Patrick Olivelle refers to it as an apologia – an answer to the challenges which Buddhism was facing in the early century CE. Aśvaghoṣa implicitly attacks the ideas and ideals present in the Brahmanical epics and comments on the logical fallacy of their philosophical and ascetic beliefs. The present paper explores the idea that why Aśvaghoṣa chooses to dedicate one whole canto to the newly emerging Sāṁkhya philosophy? Why Sarvārthasiddha [Buddha-to-be] chooses to listen and repudiate the Sāṁkhya teacher Arāda? And how this idea of listening and criticizing the Sāṁkhya exposition fits into the wider authorial intent of Aśvaghoṣa to present Buddhism as the ultimate and absolute path to attain enlightenment? The paper will use an inter-textual approach and will contextualize the description of Sāṁkhya in contemporary religious and philosophical settings