Early Buddhism and The Bhagavadgita

This is a critical and comparative philosophical analysis and assessment of the teachings of Buddha as found in the early stratum of the Pali Canon and those of Lord Krsna as embodied in the Bhagavadgita. It is for the first time that the foundational works of the two most important traditions of Indian thought have been brought together for comparative treatment.

The widely prevalent opinion among scholars that Hindu thought did not have any significant contact with Pali Buddhism, might perhaps be one of the reasons why no attempt has previously been made to undertake a comparative study of the Bhagavadgita and early Buddhism. The author, however, with no such preconceived notion, makes a thorough examination of the question bearing on the chronology and the sources of the Bhagavadgitã and early Buddhism, and reaches a conclusion contrary to the prevalent opinion.