Milinda Panha

The Milindapañha (Questions of Milinda) is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: Milinda) of Bactria, in Sāgalā, present-day Sialkot. The Milindapañhā is regarded as canonical in Burmese Buddhism, included as part of the book of Khuddaka Nikāya. An abridged version is included as part of Chinese Mahāyāna translations of the canon. The Milindapañha is not regarded as canonical by Thai or Sri Lankan Buddhism, however, despite the surviving Theravāda text being in Sinhalese script. The Chinese text titled the Monk Nāgasena Sutra corresponds to the first three chapters of the Milindapañha. It was translated sometime during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). It is generally accepted by scholars that the work is composite, with additions made over some time. In support of this, it is noted that the Chinese versions of the work are substantially shorter. The earliest part of the text is believed to have been written between 100 BC and 200 AD. The text may have initially been written in Sanskrit; Oskar von Hinüber suggests, based on an extant Chinese translation of Mil as well as some unique conceptualizations within the text, the text's original language might have been Gandhari. However, apart from the Sri Lankan Pali edition and its derivatives, no other copies are known. The oldest manuscript of the Pali text was copied in 1495 AD. Based on references within the text itself, significant sections of the text are lost, making Milinda the only Pali text known to have been passed down as incomplete. It is mentioned in the Grande Inscription d'Angkor engraved in 1701 on the walls of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The book is included in the inscriptions of the Canon approved by the Burmese Fifth Council and the printed edition of the Sixth Council text.