Buddhacarita (Sanskrit, the acts of the Buddha). A biography of the Buddha in the style of Sanskrit epic poetry (mahākāvya) written by Aśvaghoṣa about the 2nd century ce. Of the seventeen cantos which survive in the original only the first thirteen are by Aśvaghosa, the remaining four being added in the 19th century and extending the narrative as far as the Buddha's return home to Lumbinī after his enlightenment (bodhi). The complete version of the epic is preserved in Tibetan and Chinese translations which both extend to 28 cantos. The Buddhacarita is a literary and religious classic, the work of a talented and skilful poet who was also an adherent of the faith. The style is reverent yet restrained and the work is relatively free of the fanciful hagiographic detail found in other sources.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)