mokshamargasya netaram bhettaram karmabhubhrtam
jñataram vishvatattvanam vande tadgunalabdhaye

Jaya Jinendra

THE GLORIOUS DEEDS OF PURNA (English)
A Translation and Study of the "Purnavadana"
By J. Tatelman
First pub. in 2000 by Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism Series
2001 220 x 145 mm 228 pp
81 208 1807 5 Hardcover Rs. 295

Avadana literature is the largest body of Buddhist texts in Sanskrit.
Purnavadana is a 1st century Sanskrit work on the life of Buddhist
monk Purna, credited with introducing Buddhism to Gujarat which
was then known as Shronaparantaka. Its principal city of
Suraparaka finds mention in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu literature
up to the 15th century.

Purna was said to be a direct disciple of the Buddha, but there is
some evidence to show that Purna lived in the Mauryan period
and was a merchant in Suraparaka who later joined the
Buddhist Order somewhere in North India and returned to found
a viable local community in his native Suraparaka. It is not beyond
the realm of possibility to suppose that in the first centuries of the
Common Era, a character was created and a hagiography built
around him which was replete with many adventures designed to
glorify and authenticate the local Buddhist tradition.

This work is the translation and critical study of "Purnavadana",
or the Glorious Deeds of Purna. The recension is to be found
as the second story in Divyavadana.

The author has focussed on the religious and literary significance
of the Purnavadana and has made a creditable attempt to study
the life of Purna, on the basis of the Purnavadana and within the
context of Indian and Singhalese Buddhism.

The author also throws light on the development of avadanas
as a genre in Buddhist literature.

A highly readable work recommended for anyone who is
interested in the social and religious history of India up to 7th
century CE.

|| sarvatra shubhamastu ||
Manish

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