
Cover via Open Library · Open Library
Bodhi Vamsa
Sign in to saveAlso known as Bodhivaṃsa
The Bodhi-Vamsa, or Mahabodhivamsa, is a prose poem in elaborate Sanskritized Pali that recounts the story of the Bodhi tree of Bodh Gaya and Anuradhapura. It is attributed to a monk called Upatissa who lived during the reign of Mahinda IV of Sri Lanka, and believed to have been composed in the 10th Century AD. It is written in the kavya style.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- literary work
Show 2 more facts
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- form of creative work
- poem
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Contents
- History and Authorship
- See also
- References
The Bodhi-Vamsa, or Mahabodhivamsa, is a prose poem in elaborate Sanskritized Pali that recounts the story of the Bodhi tree of Bodh Gaya and Anuradhapura. It is attributed to a monk called Upatissa who lived during the reign of Mahinda IV of Sri Lanka, and believed to have been composed in the 10th Century AD. It is written in the kavya style.
== Contents == The Mahabodhivamsa is composed primarily in prose, but includes verses at the end of each chapter, many of them originating from the Mahavamsa. Like the Mahavamsa, the Mahabodhivamsa begins by recounting the recognition of Gautama Buddha by Dipankara Buddha and then proceeds to recount the life of Gautama Buddha and an account of the first three Buddhist Councils. It then describes the mission of Mahinda to bring Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, and the transplantation of the Bodhi tree and the creation of the bodhipuja ceremony that celebrates it. It consists of twelve chapters, and ends with a list of locations where saplings from the Bodhi tree were planted. This list matches those included in the Samantapasadika of Buddhaghosa and the Mahavamsa.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bodhi Vamsa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.