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Consider the following famous historical persons : 1. Ashvaghosha 2. Bhavabhuti 3. Nagarjuna 4. Nagasena Who of the above are Buddhist scholars ?
Explanation
Ashvaghosha, Nagarjuna, and Nagasena are prominent figures in Buddhist history. Ashvaghosha was a 2nd-century Buddhist philosopher-poet and monk who authored the 'Buddhacharita', an epic on the life of Buddha [c3][t1][t3]. Nagarjuna (ca. 150–250 CE) is regarded as the most important Buddhist philosopher after the Buddha, known for founding the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school and the concept of 'Sunyata' or emptiness [t4][t7][t10]. Nagasena was a Buddhist monk famous for his philosophical dialogue with the Greco-Bactrian king Menander I, recorded in the text 'Milinda Panha' [c1]. In contrast, Bhavabhuti was an 8th-century Sanskrit dramatist and scholar associated with the court of King Yashovarman of Kannauj; his works like 'Malatimadhava' and 'Uttararamacharita' belong to the Hindu classical literary tradition rather than Buddhist scholarship [t2][t6]. Therefore, only 1, 3, and 4 are Buddhist scholars.
Sources
- [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 3: Rise of Territorial Kingdoms and New Religious Sects > The Starving Tigress: A Jataka Tale > p. 43
- [2] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 6: Polity and Society in Post-Mauryan Period > Art and Literature > p. 82
- [3] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashvaghosha
- [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavabhuti