Name/Title
Light of Asia, the founder of Buddhism.Entry/Object ID
2000.FIC.02.064Scope and Content
Book entitled Light of Asia, by Edwin Arnold, C.S.I. The book contains a 97 page epic poem which the author states is his depiction "of the life, character and indication of the philosophy of that noble hero and reformer, Prince Gautama of India, the founder of Buddhism."
Pages 769-868 with additional index.
Price 5 cts.
New York / American Book Exchange / Tribune Building / 1880
The Light of Asia, or The Great Renunciation (Mahâbhinishkramana), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879.
In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavors to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Buddha, who, after attaining enlightenment, became the Buddha, The Awakened One. The book presents his life, character, and philosophy in a series of verses. It is a free adaptation of the Lalitavistara.
A few decades before the book's publication, very little was known outside Asia about the Buddha and Buddhism. Arnold's book was one of the first successful efforts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership. After receiving the poem from theosophists, Mahatma Gandhi was awed and his subsequent introduction to Madame Blavatsky and her Key to Theosophy inspired him to study his own religion.
The book has been highly acclaimed from the time it was first published and has been the subject of several reviews. It has been translated into over thirty languages, including Hindi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Asia 8.30.2024Collection
Early Family Papers: CahoonRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Arnold, Edwin