Previous Year Question
Sanghabhuti, an Indian Buddhist monk, who travelled to China at the end of the fourth century AD, was the author of a commentary on:
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Sanghabhuti was an Indian Buddhist monk and scholar who travelled to China towards the end of the fourth century AD. He was knowledgeable in the Vinaya literature of the Sarvastivada tradition and is known for a commentary connected with the Sarvastivada Vinaya.
The Vinaya is the collection of rules relating to the discipline, conduct and monastic life of Buddhist monks and nuns. Sarvastivada was an important school of early Buddhism that had a significant presence in north-western India and Central Asia. Its texts reached China through Indian Buddhist monks and translators.
The remaining options are incorrect:
(a) The Prajnaparamita Sutras constitute a group of Mahayana Buddhist texts whose central subject is the perfection of wisdom.
(b) The Visuddhimagga is a celebrated work of the Theravada tradition composed by Buddhaghosa in the fifth century AD.
(d) The Lalitavistara is a Buddhist text narrating the life of the Buddha; it is not the commentary referred to in connection with Sanghabhuti.