The Sanskrit Text of Buddha-carita Aśvaghoṣa - buddhanet-de-index

Introduction to the Text - 4For instance in Cowell’s edition certain verses were included which later proved tobe spurious. These have been printed here, but not analysed, as they throw no lighton the text. Also certain readings were adopted by Cowell which we can be sure goagainst Aśvaghoṣa’s normal prosody, and are therefore incorrect. In a few casestherefore I have preferred Johnson’s readings, these are all noted in the appropriateplace. 2Description of the MetresIn what follows these conventions are employed:⏑ = a light syllable− = a heavy syllable⏓ = the syllable may be light or heavy× = the syllable may be light or heavy, but as it occurs at the end of the line,where there is a pause, it is always taken as heavy¦ indicates a rythmic division in the line, and ¦¦ indicates a break in the middleof a pādayuga.One of the more interesting aspects of Aśvaghoṣa’s prosody, at least for someonecoming from a background in Pāḷi and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, is its regularity,and almost complete lack of license in regard to to the metre. It is necessarytherefore at the outset to point out that in the whole text as we have presented ithere:all syllables are counted at their natural weight there are no svarabhakti vowels that have to be included and counted towardsthe metre,there is no resolution of one presumed heavy syllable into 2 lights and similarly, there is no replacement of two presumed light syllables by oneheavy1 Although Johnson’s edition is definitely to be preferred, being based on better manuscripts,it is not in the public domain as yet, therefore I have prepared Cowell’s edition here.2 Although I have adjusted Cowell’s text in the ways indicated above wherever necessary,there has, of course, been no attempt to establish a new edition. I have simply examinedJohnson’s text to see if we can provide better readings, where it is clear that the metre mustbe incorrect, so as to more accurately reflect Aśvaghoṣa’s prosody.