Avadana and Narrative

Gandhari avadana, miracle, and narrative fragments from early Buddhist storytelling traditions.

Pages

  • Gandharan Avadanas — BL Fragment 1Ten edifying Buddhist tales from the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts — first-century Gandhāri Prakrit birch-bark scrolls from ancient Gandhāra. Stories of encounters with kings, heretics, and the karmic consequences of good and evil deeds.
  • Gandharan Avadanas — BL Fragments 2, 3, and 21Further Gandhāri avadāna tales from the British Library birch-bark scrolls — Fragments 2, 3, 21, and Supplementary Fragments A-C. First-century CE narratives including the Pūrvayoga of Ajñāta Kauṇḍinya and additional edifying stories.
  • The Miracle at SravastiThe oldest known literary account of the Buddha's great miracle at Śrāvastī, composed in Gandhāri Prakrit in mātrāchandas meter, dating to the 1st century CE. A birch-bark poem of 74 stanzas narrating the contest between the Buddha and the heretic Pūraṇa Kāśyapa before Kings Prasenajit and Bimbisāra. From the Split Collection of Kharoṣṭhī manuscripts.