The Light of Asia:

The marvel of an epic

by Rupa Banduwardena

The strategic location of Sri Lanka, India and a few neighbouring countries in the Indian ocean in the Maritime Silk Route from China to Europe made them a hub of ancient trade. Some of these countries, one-time colonies under the Portuguese, Dutch and British and the French too. Trade was their forte and India and Sri Lanka became great emporiums of the East. Sir Edwin Arnold a Britisher made the profound intellect of the Buddha shine in all its splendours.

Civil servants

He was an eminent scholar, literary critic, spiritual composer like no other among the galaxy of civil servants who adorned the empire. His epic poem the Light of Asia was hailed with joy by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

His treatise deals with the life of the Buddha and his noble teachings. It is unique in spiritual literature in that he opened the door for the readers to acquire the knowledge based on Buddhism, which was then confined only to the East. His aim was to spread his doctrine far and wide into His land of birth and neighbouring countries.

The first poem written in English on Siddhartha Gautama, was Arnold's greatest achievement.

Other civil servants such as George Turner translated Mahavamsa into English, Davids H. Holdenburg and Richard Morris who set up a company of Pali books, R.A.G. Festing and Thomas Steel delved into the ancient history Skanda cult. Leonard woolf who had an indepth knowledge of the rural society as reflected in his Village in the Jungle. Sir Edwin Arnold left a lasting impression in the minds of people in The light of Asia.

Born in Sussex, UK in 1832, he had his early education at King's College, London. After qualifying himself from the University College, Oxford he was appointed Principal, Deccan College, which later paved The way for him to gain insight into Buddhist philosophy.

He was deeply interested in learning the culture associated with Buddhism. He studied Pali and Sanskrit to widen his knowledge in Buddhism to make Buddhist thought and the Buddhist way of life a living reality. He made an in-depth study of the great epics of India such as Maha Bharata, Ramayanaya and Raghuwamsa. Inspired by the true nature of the life of Siddhartha Gautama and His Dhamma, Arnold was determined to share it with his own people in their language.

Great Feats

He achieved great feats in his fast flowing narrative. Dhamma is the source from which he drew the material for his epic which promotes valuable moral qualities which enrich human mind. His verses were the mouthpiece of moral and spiritual values. His epic adds a new dimension into the Buddhist culture and the philosophy at large. His quest for knowledge resulted in his translating Indian classics into English.

The Bhagavat Geeta is an outstanding example. It is said that he visited Sri Lanka to gain a wide knowledge of Buddhism and Sinhala language. He wrote a number of books on Buddhism of which, the Light of Asia became the most spiritually rich. He was a founder member of the Mahabodhi Society of India along with Anagarika Dharmapala.

It was in 1879 that Sir Edwin Arnold gifted his epic poem The Light of Asia to the English speaking world. It gave wide publicity in the west to Buddhism. Later it was translated into many European languages. There were 60 editions in England and 80 in America. The popularity of the epic among the Westerners was such that within six years it ran into 30 editions.

This was often used for oratorical contests and competitions conducted by English Literary Associations in Sri Lankan schools. How the student took a keen interest and actively participated in such competitions during my teaching career still keeps ringing in my ears.