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Theme
Genre

Buddhist Poetry

Religious and Devotional Writing

Buddhist poetry is a genre of literature that forms part of Buddhist discourse, conveying Buddhist teaching and practice through verse.

Facts
Notable Example
The Great Poems (mahakavya) of Ashvaghosha 1
Defining Trait
Verses (gatha) that poetically summarize the themes of prose passages in sutras 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Buddhist poetry
  • History
    One of the first and best known is Aśvaghoṣa, of whom two complete "Great Poems" (mahākāvya) survive.
  • Form
    Most Buddhist sutras have a prose component supplemented by verses (known as gatha) that reiterate and poetically summarize the themes of preceding prose passages.
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