MILINDAPAṆHA

The Milindapaṇha is a Buddhist book which purports to be a dialogue between the Indian monk Nāgasena and the Indo-Greek king Milinda. Although such a dialogue between the two men may well have actually taken place, the Milindapaṇha is a literary work. It was probably originally composed for the use of new converts to explain apparent contradictions in Buddhist doctrine and clarify obscure points. In the Milindapaṇha the king asks a series of difficult questions to which Nāgasena replies with lively and often ingenious answers. The earliest part of the Milindapaṇha was written in about the 1st century CE, perhaps in northern Pakistan, it was later translated into Pāḷi and finally taken to Sri Lanka where parts were subsequently added. Buddhists consider the Milindapaṇha to be an authoritative work, although it is not part of the Tipiṭaka.