Early Buddhist texts

document written on pieces of the inner layer of birch bark

The Ashokavadana (; ; ) is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It glorifies Ashoka as a Buddhist emperor whose only ambition was to spread Buddhism far and wide.

Ancient Buddhist texts

The Mahāvastu (Sanskrit for "Great Event" or "Great Story") is a canonical text of the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism which was originally part of the school's Vinaya pitaka. The Mahāvastu is a composite multi-life hagiography of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Its numerous textual layers are held by scholars to have been compiled between the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE.

The Divyāvadāna or Divine narratives is a Sanskrit anthology of Buddhist avadana tales, many originating in Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya texts. It may be dated to 2nd century CE. The stories themselves are therefore quite ancient and may be among the first Buddhist texts ever committed to writing, but this particular collection of them is not attested prior to the seventeenth century. Typically, the stories involve the Buddha explaining to a group of disciples how a particular individual, through actions in a previous life, came to have a particular karmic result in the present. A predominant them

encyclopedic work on Abhidharma

parallel texts shared by the Early Buddhist Schools

collection of 30 longer sūtras in four sections, originating from the Dharmaguptaka School, roughly parallel to the Pāli Dīgha Nikāya

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