Mat?ce?a
M?T?CE?A
M?t?ce?a (second century c.e.) was a Sanskrit poet. A ?aivite convert to Buddhism, he is the author of: (1) Var??rhavar?astotra (Hymn in Praise of the Praiseworthy), a poem in 386 stanzas (hence the subtitle Catu??ataka) in praise of the Buddha, which survives in Sanskrit (incomplete) and Tibetan; (2) Pras?dapratibhodbhava (Inspired by Faith), a poem in 153 stanzas (hence the subtitle ?atapañc??atka) also in praise of the Buddha, which survives in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese; and (3) Mah?r?jakani?kalekha (Letter to the Great King Kani?ka), a poem in 85 stanzas, surviving only in Tibetan translation, in which the aged M?t?ce?a offers advice to the young Kani?ka. A number of other works in the Tibetan Tanjur are attributed to M?t?ce?a, but only a few further fragments remain of the original Sanskrit. M?t?ce?a's poetry is notable for its terse, clear style, which heightens the intensity of his thought and feeling.
See also:Sanskrit, Buddhist Literature in
Bibliography
Bailey, D. R. Shackleton, ed. and trans. The ?atapañc??atka of M?t?ce?a. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1951.
Hahn, Michael, ed. and trans. Invitation to Enlightenment: Letter to the Great King Kaniska and Letter to a Disciple by Candragomin. Berkeley, CA: Dharma, 1999.
Hartmann, Jens-Uwe, ed. and trans. Das Var??rhavar?astotra des M?t?ce?a. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987.
Peter Khoroche