A Gandhari Buddhist Discourse

The Goṣiṅga-sutra is a Buddhist discourse preserved in a Gandhari Prakrit manuscript from the Senior Collection (RS 12), a group of birch-bark scrolls dating to approximately the first or second century CE, recovered from the ancient kingdom of Gandhāra in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhari Prakrit, written in the Kharoṣṭhī script, was the literary language of one of the earliest Buddhist manuscript traditions — predating most surviving Pali manuscripts by centuries.

The sūtra describes the Buddha's visit to three monk-disciples — the Venerables Anuruddha, Nandiya, and Kimbila — who dwell together in harmony in the Gosiṅga forest. The Buddha inquires about their communal life, and Anuruddha describes their practice of loving-kindness and mutual care. He then reports their progressive attainment of the four meditative absorptions (jhāna) and the formless attainments, culminating in the destruction of the mental taints — confirming all three monks as fully awakened. The discourse closes with the devas of all celestial realms rejoicing in cascade.

A parallel version survives in the Pali Canon as the Cūḷagosiṅga Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya 31). This is the first-ever English translation from the Gandhari version. The manuscript is fragmentary — the left margin of every line is damaged — and lacunae are marked with [...]. Reconstructed portions follow the editors' conventions from the critical edition (JGBT No. 2, 2022).

The Discourse

[...] having set down the alms-bowls [...]

[...] he walked forth to where [...]

[...] the park-keeper rose to greet him. He rose to greet him. [...] A water-vessel [...] he stood.

[...] He walked forth into the forest, to their hermitage, beyond [...]

[...] surrounded by the assembly, in awakening, with fear and dread removed, established [...]

[...] he addressed the renown-realm, the great ground of renown [...]

[...] the renown-realm addressed, the region set in order [...]

[...] together with righteousness, in the righteous company, in the noble company. He went [...]

[...] and one was in awakening [...] and a second was in awakening [...]

[...] the righteous discourse — he could not turn away. And the Blessed One, together with [...]

[...] then he drew near. He saw the park-keeper at a distance from the Blessed One [...]

[...] having entered that place, there three sons of good family were dwelling [...]

[...] He heard — the Venerable Anuruddha — in seclusion, with joyful mind [...]

[...] together with them, thus: "And without hesitation, the Venerable [...]"

[...] "The Teacher, the Blessed One, has arrived." And, "O Venerable [...]"

[...] the Venerable Nandiya and the Venerable Kimbila. Then he drew near [...]

[...] "The Teacher, the Blessed One, has arrived." Thus [...]

[...] "Rise from your seat!" And the Venerable Anuruddha, and the Venerable [...]

[...] Anuruddha took the Blessed One's bowl and robe. The Venerable Nandiya prepared the Blessed One's seat.

[...] The Blessed One knew it. He knew it. He sat upon the seat. Then the Blessed One addressed the Venerable [...]

[...] "Are you well, monks? Are you enduring? Are you comfortable? Are you persevering [...]?"

[...] "Are you comfortable, monks? Are you dwelling together in harmony? Here, to me [...]"

[...] "This, to me, in this hermitage: with loving-kindness of body, we established [...]" and in thought [...]

[...] "Having set aside self-interest, having laid down thoughts of this hermitage [...]"

[...] "Of one mind — is the Venerable Nandiya, is the Venerable Kimbila [...]?"

[...] "In just this way, in perfect harmony, together dwelling, I reckon it so." "This, to me [...]"

[...] "And now, having set aside self-interest, having laid down thoughts of this hermitage [...]"

[...] "Are you dwelling in gladness? Is there anything further — any superhuman distinction [...]?"

[...] "Are you dwelling in harmony? Is there any higher, any superhuman distinction [...]?"

[...] "Secluded indeed from sense-desires, secluded from evil unwholesome states [...]

[...] born of seclusion, with rapture and happiness — I dwell having attained the first absorption. This is [...]"

[...] "— the distinguished attainment. And you, Anuruddha [...]"

[...] "Having transcended this, having let it subside — is there another, higher [...]?"

[...] "And dwelling together in harmony — of this attainment there is [...]"

[...] "The distinguished attainment was realized. Here, monks — [...]"

[...] "With unification of mind, without applied thought, without sustained thought, concentrated, with rapture and happiness — the second [...]"

[...] "[...] dwelling in harmony — of this attainment, the transcendence [...]"

[...] "— was realized. And you, Anuruddha — content, undisturbed, together [...]"

[...] "Of this attainment, the transcendence, the subsiding — is there another, higher [...]?"

[...] "Dwelling together also in harmony — of this attainment there is [...]"

[...] "The distinguished attainment." And Anuruddha said: "That which [...]"

[...] "With equanimity toward rapture, with dispassion, [...] he observes. With equanimity, with mindfulness, with happiness of dwelling — the third absorption [...]"

[...] "Of this attainment, the transcendence, the subsiding. This again — beyond [...]"

[...] "The fourth absorption indeed [...]" And Anuruddha was content [...] undisturbed [...]

[...] "Of this attainment, the transcendence, the subsiding — is there another, beyond [...]?"

[...] "The hermitage also in harmony, also dwelling in harmony — is there another [...]?"

[...] "That which I seek — in all ways transcending the perception of form [...]

[...] infinite space — the base of infinite space — that station [...] he dwells.

Of this attainment, the transcendence, the subsiding. This again [...]

[...] in all ways, neither-perception-nor-non-perception, transcending — the cessation of perception and feeling [...]"

[...] "— the higher distinguished attainment." And the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Anuruddha [...]

[...] "The righteous, the Dharma-speaker, equally possessed, equally awakened [...]"

[...] "Equally awakened, with great joy — rise from your seat. Walk forth [...]"

The Blessed One, great in fruit, having traveled a great road [...]

He knew. He sat upon the seat. And he saw [...]

[...] He stood on one side. Standing on one side, the one who had seen [...]

[...] "Three sons of good family dwell there: Anuruddha, Nandiya, Kimbila."

[...] "Where these three sons of good family dwell — Anuruddha, Nandiya, Kimbila [...]"

[...] serene-minded, those sons of good family — without pride; from whatever good family [...]

[...] happy — whose clan-homestead, whose village, whose [...]

[...] happy — where the world with its devas [...] the world [...] with its renunciants and brāhmaṇas [...]

[...] serene-minded, without pride, the world with its devas [...]

[...] with its human beings. And it has been so long — happily, well [...]

[...] like the fragrance of the finest sandalwood [...] Where these three sons of good family [...]

[...] The Trāyastriṃśa devas, the Yāma devas, the Tuṣita devas, the Nirmāṇarati devas [...]

[...] having heard, they were pleased. Having heard, they proclaimed: "These [...]"

[...] the Brahmā-world was illuminated. "Thus has the Blessed One [...]"

Colophon

The Goṣiṅga-sutra, translated from Gandhari Prakrit by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. First-ever English translation from the Gandhari version.

Source text: Senior Collection RS 12, a birch-bark scroll from ancient Gandhāra (ca. 1st–2nd century CE), as edited by Blair Silverlock, Mark Allon, and Andrew Skinner in An Edition and Study of the Gos̱iga-sutra, Journal of Gandhari Buddhist Texts (JGBT) No. 2 (2022).

The English is independently derived from the Gandhari Prakrit transliteration. The Pali parallel (Cūḷagosiṅga Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya 31) was known to the translator as contextual background for understanding the fragmentary narrative, but the English comes from reading the Gandhari, not from the Pali or from any existing English translation. No complete English translation of this Gandhari version existed prior to this work.

The manuscript is severely damaged: the left margin of every line is broken, and the beginning of each line is lost. Lacunae are marked with [...]. Reconstructed readings from the critical edition are incorporated silently where the editors indicated high confidence (round brackets in the transliteration), and noted where readings are uncertain (square brackets). Some passages remain too fragmentary for connected translation; these have been rendered as faithfully as possible while acknowledging the limits of the surviving text.

The discourse describes the Buddha's visit to three monks — the Venerables Anuruddha (Gāndhārī: aṇarudha), Nandiya (ṇadio), and Kimbila (kibhire) — who dwell together in the Gosiṅga forest in perfect harmony. They practice loving-kindness toward one another, share one mind, and progress through the four meditative absorptions (jhāna) and the formless attainments to the complete destruction of the mental taints (āsrava) — full awakening. The devas of every celestial realm, hearing of this, rejoice in cascade from the Trāyastriṃśa heavens to the Brahmā-world.

Good Works Translation: Gandhari Prakrit → English. Translator: Kotoba (translator-02, iron-age pool). Scribe: NTAC automated fleet.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: गोषिग-सूत्र (Gos̱iga-sutra)

Gandhari Prakrit source text from Senior Collection RS 12, as edited by Silverlock, Allon, and Skinner, JGBT No. 2 (2022). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

1 /// ? pḍṭ́h[vi]ṣu
2 /// (*paḍi)k[ma]ḏi so yeṇa
3 /// (*paṇiga)ḍ uvṭ́hvḏ p(*a)di uvaṭ́hvḏ ⟪⟨*u⟩d(*a)k(*a)laḍi⟫ udpatraḏa ṭ́ha
4 /// phakramaḏi ye ho vaṇa teṣ̱a aśpataṇ(*a) pac̄i pi
5 /// (*ṇa pa)ryata bhoḏi avakarabhayaṇaḏa grahita
6 /// ? [paḍi]hameḏi paradhoṇigaḍa yasabhumi pa
7 /// (*yasa)bhumi paḍihamedita praḏeśi samajahita
8 /// [ki] saha ḏema a ḏarmia pakṣea pa[śru]jea ye ho
9 /// ⟪ya⟫ [re] bhoḏi eka [aṇ]. ? ⟪ha⟫ ? ? ? [śa] sa bhoḏi duḏie
10 /// (*dharm)[i]e [ka]sae aḏiṇ(*a)meti asa u bhag̱ava sahiṇa
11 /// t[e]ṇa uasakrami adaśaḏi dag̱apale bhag̱avata dure
12 /// (*pra)[vis](*a e)ḏ(*a) ḏae ḏaspa tatra trae kulaputra vihara[ti] ?
13 /// [a]śroṣi aïṣpa aṇarudha {a} rahog̱aḏa puḏisprali
14 /// [sadha] h[i]ḏam evarua atarakas̱as̱alava as̱a u aï
15 /// (*vare)[a] śasta ma bhag̱ava aṇupata asa o aï
16 /// (*aïṣ)p y ṇadio aïṣpa ya kibhire teṇa uasakrami
17 /// (*avikrama)s̱ aüṣ̱̄a śasta me bhag̱ava aṇupate eva aüṣ̱̄a ⟪ḏi⟫
18 /// [u]ṭ́hahi as̱aṇaḏa as̱a u aïṣpa ya aṇarudhe aïṣpa ya
19 /// [a]ṇarudha bhayavaḏa patracivara paḍigaheṣ̱u aïṣpa ṇadio ⟪bhagavaḏa⟫ śeṇasaṇo
20 /// (*bha)gv pañate va pañate va as̱aṇa ṇiṣ̱aca e bhagava aïṣpa
21 /// ? ṇ kilamas̱a taga vae bhate aspahu khamaṇio taga yava
22 /// (*samoḏayama)ṇ taga vae bhate samagra viharama samoḏayamaṇa iśe mama
23 /// t[sa] mama imeṣ̱a aśpataṇa metra kayiame pacuastiḏa bho
24 /// spaya ayiprao ṇikṣivita imeṣ̱a aśpataṇa citava
25 /// eka maña cite aïṣpa va ṇadio aïṣpa va kibhi[re]
26 /// (*evaru)ei sabramayaraei sadha ṇivaso kapemi tasa mama
27 /// (*ṇu)[ṇ](*a a)h spya ayipraho ṇikṣivita imeṣ̱a aśpataṇa citava
28 /// [m]oḏamaṇe viharate asti kici utvara maṇuśadharma vi
29 /// (*samoḏamaṇe)h vihara[tei] asti utvari maṇośadhame viśeṣ̱a
30 /// vvite yeva kamehi vivita pavaehi akuśal[e]
31 /// (*viveg̱a)j piḏisuho paḍama jaṇa vas̱apaja viharami aya
32 /// [vi]śeṣ̱aphraṣ̱avihara as̱ig̱aḏe sasu sasu aṇarudha
33 /// (*sama)ḏikramae paḍipaṣadhie asti aña utvari ma
34 /// (*sa)mgr(*e)hi eva s̱amoḏamaṇehi viharatehi ima
35 /// [vi]śeṣ̱apaṣ̱avihara as̱ig̱aḏa iśe vae bhate ya
36 /// (*ekoḏi)bhave avitarka avicara samahiḏe priḏisu⟨*ho⟩ biḏi ca
37 /// (*s̱amoḏamaṇe)hi viharatehi imas̱a viharas̱a samaḏikrama
38 /// (*as̱i)gḏa ss̱o aṇarudha kaca aṇarudha tuspae va samagre eva samo
39 /// (*a)ñ utvari [ma]ṇuśadhama viśeṣ̱apaṣ̱avihara
40 /// (*viharate)h [ima]s̱a viharas̱a samaḏikrama paḍapaṣadhie
41 /// v[e] bhat[e] yavaḏ e agakṣami piḏia e virag̱ae uve
42 /// aïkṣati uvekṣae spaḏima suhavihara triḏi caṇa vas̱a
43 /// (*ima)sa viharas̱a samaḏikramae paḍipaṣadhi aya ña utvari
44 /// (*caü)[ṭ́ha] caṇa eva yavaḏ eva sasa aṇarudha kaca vaṇa tuspae va
45 /// (*ima)s̱ viha[s̱a] samaḏikrama paḍipaṣadhie asti aña utva
46 /// (*aspa)e v samagr[e] eva samoḏaemaṇe viharata asti aña
47 /// y[vaḏ e agakṣami] sarvaśa ruasañaṇa samaḏikrama
48 /// (*a)ṇt [ag̱a]śa ti ag̱aśaca{ña}ïḏaṇa vasapaca vihara
49 /// imasa viharasa samaḏikramae pa[ḍi]paṣadhi aya ña
50 /// (*sa)rvś ṇvsñasañaïḏaṇa{ṇa} samaḏikrama sañaveḏa⟨*iḏa⟩ṇi
51 /// tḏ utvrḏra phraṣ̱avihara as̱a o bhag̱ava aïṣpa ya aṇa
52 /// (*dhar)[mi]e [kas̱a]e sadaṣeṣ̱i samaḏaveṣi samuteyeṣ̱i
53 /// (*samute)[yi]ta saprahaṣ̱ata uṭ́hahi as̱aṇaḏa pakama
54 /// bhg̱avaḏa mahuta aṇuvadhita taḏe yeva praḏiṇivatita
55 /// [ṇiṣ̱i]ḏisu ekam ata ṇiṣ̱aṇa aïṣpa
56 /// [ṇo] vae aïṣpasa aṇarudhasa uas̱akramita eḏa
57 /// (*vihara)t prañae drispa asrava e parakṣiṇa taïḏa aï
58 /// aśpata⟨*ṇa⟩ ⟪vo traya⟫ uas̱akramita eḏam artha areyes̱i
59 /// [pa]rakṣiṇa drigaratre me aśpata⟨*ṇa⟩ ceḏas̱a ceḏas̱a
60 /// (*vihara)t prañae drispa asrava parakṣiṇa devaḏa mi u
61 /// (*sa)mvati viharata prañae drispa asrava parakṣiṇa
62 /// (*prag̱aśa)yi ḏe asa o bhag̱ava mahuṭ́ha mag̱eṇa gatva maga
63 /// prñate va as̱aṇa ṇiṣ̱iḏi {{ṇi}} as̱a o driga ḏe
64 /// vdita eka[m ata a]ṭ́has̱i ekam ata aṭ́hiḏe ye dri
65 /// (*tra)[e] kulaputra viharati aṇarudha ṇadia ḵibhire
66 /// (*ya)tr ḏe trae kulaputra viharati aṇarudha ṇadia ḵibhi⟪re⟫
67 /// (*pra)s̱ṇacita eḏe tae kulaputra aṇusparea aspi ku
68 /// (*su)h[e] yasa kulavaravaṭ́haḏa yaspi gramaḏa yaspi ṇi
69 /// (*suha)[e] yatra sadevao yava log̱e samarag̱a sabrama
70 /// (*pras̱a)ṇcita aṇuspare sadevayesa log̱asa samara
71 /// sdivmṇuṣa asa drikharatra iḏae suhae as̱a
72 /// (*la)va vajiṇa {{su}}⟪su⟫ladhalava vajiṇa yatre ḏa trae kulaü
73 /// (*trae)tśa deva yama deva tuṣiḏa deva ṇimaṇaraḏiṇa deva
74 /// (*ge)ṣ̱ śutva śadha ag̱arisu geṣ̱a aṇuṣavisu iḏi te
75 /// (*bramalo)[o] paḍisobiḏa ahuṣ̱i iḏam eya bhayava ata

Source Colophon

Gandhari Prakrit transliteration from: Blair Silverlock, Mark Allon, and Andrew Skinner, "An Edition and Study of the Gos̱iga-sutra," Journal of Gandhari Buddhist Texts (JGBT) No. 2 (2022). Birch-bark scroll RS 12, Senior Collection, recovered from the greater Gandhāra region. Kharoṣṭhī script, approximately 1st–2nd century CE.

Notation conventions: /// marks the beginning of a line where the left margin is broken. (* ) indicates text reconstructed by the editors. [ ] indicates uncertain but probable readings. ⟪ ⟫ indicates scribal additions or corrections. { } indicates text deleted by the scribe.

The ancient text is in the public domain. The scholarly edition is published under standard academic conventions; the source text is reproduced here as an ancient language original for study and verification alongside the English translation.

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