Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism

Sūtrālaṅkāra – 171
Maheśa renounces it for Buddhism. Among the religious sects of
non-Buddhistic persuasion are the Nirgranthas or Jainas, the
adversaries whom Aśvaghoṣa detests with greater virulence than
Brahmans. In one story the King Kaniṣka is made to be enraged
against the Jaina rivals of the Buddhists. From the inscriptions at
Mathurā we learn, that the Jainas were flourishing under the Indo-
Scythian kings. The number of the sects, which were considered
heretic, attests the religious activities of the times. Aśvaghoṣa
enumerates quite a number of them. The ornate diction, which
Aśvaghoṣa was the first to venture to apply to the otherwise insipid
sūtras of the Buddhists, no doubt flourished amongst the non-
Buddhistic creeds. In one place the king Aśoka is made to say: “The
heretics are able exponents of literary adornment and rhetoric.” The
Brahmans still love to [200] preserve the monopoly of grammar and
writing, but already “the other castes also possess the science.”
Literature seems to have entered into daily life. “The teaching of the
Buddha has spread through writing over the world”. It is most
remarkable, that the civilisation of India could boast of the use of
Palimpsests. One of the most charming stories mentions them. Up to
now we had no other indication from any source whatever, that the
Hindus, like the Greeks, used this material for writing. This is an
indication, which will have to be reckoned with in our study of
ancient manuscripts of India.
The Arts
The arts were fully flourishing at the period. Comedians are
frequently mentioned.